North Dakota House has approved the Senate’s amendments to a voter identification bill. The House then voted 68-24 to pass House Bill 1332 on Friday afternoon.

 PJ Media:  “Project Vote’s Deputy Director Amy Busefink is busy lobbying the Texas Legislature on election integrity issues – trying to stop Texas from checking to see if Texas voters are registered in multiple states. She recently organized a letter of various left wing groups trying to stop legislation before the Texas House Election Committee. Members of the Texas legislature shouldn’t take Busefink seriously – she has a history of participating in voter fraud.”

link.

The Washington Times reveals how a federal bureaucracy starts to believe the steady stream of rhetoric from the so-called “reform community” and become an organ of it.  A bureaucracy and staff that fails to reflect the diversity of both parties and differing legal approaches to campaign finance laws is destined for failure.  Such harassment gives fodder to those who want to rein in the federal agency. To the story:

Crossroads GPS, the Karl Rove-affiliated conservative group that
spent at least $30 million on issue ads and other advocacy leading
up to Election Day, is darn tired of being asked by the Federal
Election Commission to tell the public where it gets its money and
how it spends it.  The FEC says that if donations were given to
Crossroads GPS for the specific purpose of running issue ads —
which, to the public, appears to be the group’s main purpose —
Crossroads GPS should disclose those donations. Prodded by the agency
on Thursday, Caleb Crosby, the group’s treasurer, responded in a tone
not normally seen in official correspondence.

“This request is
the fourth such [notification] we have received on this exact same
subject,” he wrote. “If the cited provision has any relevance
whatsoever to the reporting of contributions in connection with
independent expenditures, it is, by its own terms, inapplicable to
Crossroads GPS. As we have noted before in response to your [requests
for additional information], Crossroads GPS is familiar with and
understands the applicable reporting regulations.“If the
organization receives any contributions that are required to be
reported … those contributions will be reported as required,” he
wrote.

 PJ Media.

Out of Beaumont, Texas: The Beaumont BISD was patiently working with DOJ, but the Texas state court ruined it all… by interpreting the law and ruling.  In the letter
from the Department of Justice, Assistant Attorney General Thomas E.
Perez says it could have changed the outcome of the situation.

Had the state court reopened the candidate qualifying
period after the decision [that all trustee seats were up for election],
even for a short period of time, the incumbent trustees or other
residents of those districts would likely have qualified, thereby
providing the voters in these districts with the opportunity to
participate in the electoral process and the ability to elect their
candidates of choice. This eventuality could have significantly
mitigated, and potentially eliminated, the retrogressive effect of the
changes.

Well, there you have it. DoJ uses Section 5 against the third branch, the judiciary.  If only the four justices on the state court (the 9th Court of Appeals) had ruled a certain way, the right way, on whether to reopen a filing deadline, this action would not have been necessary.  But the court didn’t consult with Tom Perez.  Surely we know that the four judges from Texas hearing all the facts and applying the law had deep discriminatory reasons for their ruling.  Of course, citizens have a higher federal civil right to vote for candidates even if they may may not have properly qualified or took timely steps to run as a candidate under local or state law.

In North Carolina, citizens aren’t leaving the field of debate to politicians and activists.  The 75% are stepping up.

As the state House
begins moving toward a voter ID bill, a public hearing Wednesday brought
out strong support for the measure, which requires voters to produce a
government-approved photograph at voting places.

Unlike a previous
hearing which brought out numerous critics of the proposal, dozens of
speakers this time argued that voter fraud was more widespread than
surveys have suggested, and that requiring photos would increase public
confidence in the electoral process.

A Wake County grand jury is asking the
district attorney to determine if a supporter of former Gov. Bev Perdue
violated state campaign finance laws.

The grand jury’s report said there was probable cause to believe
Charles Michael Fulenwider of Morganton broke the law by funneling money
through a Chapel Hill firm to pay for someone on Perdue’s staff during
the 2008 gubernatorial campaign.   Link.

A measure written by a local assemblywoman that would give military
personnel overseas more voting rights has cleared its first hurdle.  Assembly
Bill 269 would allow the ballots of military service members and other
Californians overseas to be counted up to three days after Election Day,
so long as the ballots are postmarked by that day.  Link.